Ann Arbor Wedding
What I’d like you all to do is view the photos from this wedding I attending in June 2011. There are some really telling photos in this set. Pick out a picture that interests you. Look deep into the picture. Here are some links about sociology and photography, some great and some not as great:
- From the United Kingdom http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/becker.html
- Steve Gold from MSU
- More from Steve Gold at MSU
- Want more from #spartannation check here with MSU online library
- Gold, Steven J. 1994. “Israeli Immigrants in the United States: The Question of Community”, Qualitative Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 325-363.
- Gold, Steven J. 1995a. “New York/LA. A Visual Comparison of Public Life in Two Cities”, Visual Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 1-2, pp. 85-105.
- Gold, Steven J. 1995b. “Shooting Scripts, Style Scripts and Photographic Depictions of Recent Immigrants in Los Angeles:”, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Visual Sociology Association, Windsor, Ontario, Jury, 1995.
- A very meager visual sociology blog
What I want you to do is…
In the comments section of this web page, you can either cite and discuss a picture right in the set or you can upload your own picture. I strongly encourage you do either or both. To upload a photo, just follow the directions in the comments section. Talk a little about your photo. And, please students, comment on other photos that are posted. I want this to be an open discussion. It doesn’t benefit anybody if I am just talking to myself!
Cite a photo (#) and talk about it specifically in the comments
OR
Post your own picture about “Union Formation” – trust yourself, you will do fantastic work!
More Content…
Here are some videos, too, if you want to comment on the videos/audio. Thanks!
You’re in luck! Another video…
Amazing! Three videos on YouTube. I’m almost as cool as Tosh.O
Here is a picture that I really, really, really want you all to comment on. What do you think is happening in this photo? Look at the groom’s gaze (on right with flower pinned to shirt). Where is he looking? Where is he not looking? What is the woman in the brown shirt (back to camera) doing? What is everybody drinking? What is in the background of the picture? I really want to hear your thoughts!
And, make sure to post your own photos using the “Upload Files” and “Select File:” tools below!
I will take a stab at the “Wedding in Ann Arbor” photo. The groom’s gaze (on right with flower pinned to shirt), may be focused on the guy sitting down with dark sunglasses in front of him. I assume this is so because in one of the other wedding photos, the groom was rubbing his eyes. This suggests that the groom may be tired, allergic to something, or trying to remain attentive after drinking too much alcohol. If either of these reasons are true, perhaps the groom would like to borrow those dark sunglasses to protect his eyes, or hide them. The groom, however, does not appear to be looking at either of the two women that are present.
The woman in the brown shirt (back to camera) is probably smiling, because the woman sitting across from her in the white shirt with a black tank top underneath it is smiling. Also, the woman in the white shirt/black tank top is drinking bottled water, but other people at the wedding may be drinking ice water from pictures on the tables, or alcohol that resembles tea filled with slices of lemon. Finally, it appears the small and quaint wedding was held in someone’s backyard, and the groom is standing on a wooden deck socializing with his guests.
Any idea why the woman is drinking water and not alcohol? Look close… Very impressive that you noticed that!
The woman is drinking bottled water because she’s pregnant. The groom may be looking at the woman who is standing in the background wearing a floral dress that accentuates her cleavage. The lady in brown is leaning to the side because she cannot believe the groom is looking at anyone other than the bride.
“The Wedding in Ann Arbor” photo looks as if the groom is showing the man in the dark glasses something interesting or even a card/magic trick, and is staring at him to see his reaction or wait for a response. The woman in the brown shirt with her back to the camera appears to be slightly leaning to the left, perhaps trying to get a better view of what the groom has in his hand (if anything). The woman in the blue is clearly drinking a small water bottle, and the others have clear plastic cups, perhaps with iced water, beer, or a cocktail; it is difficult to tell for sure.
The background of the picture looks like the back of a house, perhaps where the wedding took place. This would indicate that the guests are relaxing in the back yard on the patio.
Extremely perceptive. Knowing what I know about this photo, since I took it, your comment about the brown shirt woman leaning to the left is really outstanding. I’m very impressed by you picking up on that. More on that later…
“The Wedding in Ann Arbor” photo that you provided to comment on really seems simple to me. The groom looks happy, glowing in a sense. Which I would hope due to the nature of the event. I see that it is taking place after the ceremony, during the reception. Everyone in the background is mingling, and truly I see the groom welcoming the guests seated at the table. He is probably picking up, or setting something down, on a table that is placed in the middle of the seating area. The groom is looking directly at the man with the sunglasses on the left, I think that the gentleman commented on how beautiful his wife is…and he needed to set down his drink and call her over to continue the conversation about the blissful life they soon endure. The women with her back to the camera, is encouraging the groom, that is why there is all smiles around! Because they all want to hear the real story, especially about the blue dress she is wearing. Drinks that are flowing are seen in clear glasses or bottled water. And the event seems overall joyful, laid back, and engaging throughout the whole photo.
Yes, this was an incredibly laid back wedding. So much so that I think you may be assuming this is not a complicated picture. There is, in fact, something pretty amazing going on in this picture that nobody has been able to hone in on. Keep thinking! Great job everybody.
“The Wedding in Ann Arbor” photo seemed simple for everyone else to figure out however I see it as more complicated. The groom may not be looking at the man near him at all. He may be gazing to someone who is not on the porch, perhaps at his fiance? Then I thought maybe he is talking to the man near him but the man is blind and that is why he is not doing the normative social cue of looking at someone when they are talking to you. As for the women in the brown shirt, she looks as if she is listening to the other women’s conversation but is not participating in it. As other people commented, one lady is drinking water but the other woman may be imbibing in an alcoholic beverage. The floral decorations on the canopy poles make this wedding seem more casual and possibly less traditional in nature. The men in their floral shirts also denote an atmosphere of a casual celebration. Everyone seems happy and relaxed! It looks like it was a very memorable wedding.
You students are really amazing! You make an important mention about the gaze of the groom possibly not looking directly into the guy’s face with the sunglasses on. You bring up that it isn’t a normal communicative gaze. Very perceptive! Now, since I know what is going on in this photo (and your idea about something out of frame was fantastic, really brilliant), I encourage you to think about what is happening inside the frame that may cause the groom to not give direct eye contact with the man in sunglasses. Maybe he is distracted(?) If so, what might he be distracted by?
After you pointed out the groom, before I read the rest of the photograph information, I wondered why the groom is only acknowledging the male. The picture looks as if the other females (besides the woman in brown), are having their own conversation and the woman in brown is either trying to engage in their conversation or a little taken aback by the groom bluntly reaching across her.
The woman in the black tank top looks pregnant and that may be the sole reason that she is drinking water. The woman sitting across from her may be drinking an alcoholic beverage or something provided at the reception because it is in an open cup.
Similar to what was already said, the background consists of the reception at someone’s house and everyone is mingling. And I also think that maybe the groom saw something interesting behind the man that grabbed his attention, perhaps his bride.
I think that the man on the left is looking at whatever the other man is holding in his hand. I think there is sincere interest there. The woman in the blue dress i think is having a conversation with the woman in the in the pink and green dress, and the woman in the brown dress, i believe is listening in or a part of the women’s conversation. it could be as simple as the four people sitting down were talking and the man that is standing came up to shake the grooms hand.
1) It’s usually not wise to make such guesses, but since you kind of encouraged it: the woman with the water bottle might be drinking water because she’s pregnant.
2) I agree that the woman in the green and pink dress is talking because the woman with the water bottle is smiling at her and the man with the sunglasses seem to be looking at her too. Her left hand holding the cup is also blurred, which makes me believe she talks with her hands moving.
3) I believe the groom wasn’t part of this conversation because he doesn’t seem engaged and I think he was just caught in the action of coming to grab his drink from the table. He might be looking at who the woman in the black and white dress is talking to.
4) Since the groom was leaning towards the table, the woman in the brown had to lean to the left to give him some room. It might also be because the groom was blocking her view from the woman in the green and pink dress, but she could also be looking at something in the background.
5) The old man seems to be captivated by something in that direction in the background/the other group of people and the bride might actually be standing there.
6) There’s definitely a lot happening in this picture. I’m curious of your role at this wedding too. Were you the designated photographer? Are you related to the bride or groom (since I don’t know if “Whitman” is her maiden name or not)?
Whoops! I forgot to cite it. I was referring to the “Wedding in Ann Arbor” picture. Might I add that I enjoyed this activity!
I believe that these pictures of the wedding show how marrying someone has become a less serious event than it used to be. In these pictures,the bride and the groom are not wearing the traditional long gown and tuxedo. This demonstrates that weddings have lost tradition and value that they used to have. I believe that it is a shame that marriage is considered so lightly by today’s society. If an couple is not taking their marriage ceremony seriously, how can we expect them to take marriage seriously? I also noticed how the ceremony was held outside, whereas most union formation ceremonies in previous decades have been held in a church. This may mean one of two things: people are becoming too busy to practice their religion or people are simply believing less in a higher power. It is embarrassing to my generation to think that we are not cherishing the act of marriage as much as we should. Situations like the one in this picture is the reason why people from older generations tend to look down on the values and morals of current generations.
I was very intrigued by these wedding pictures. It is clear that this couple decided to have a non-traditional, unique wedding: the bride is not wearing a typical white gown but instead wears a more casual dress with color, the ceremony is outside, there does not appear to be a wedding party and it looks like the person that married them could be a friend rather than a religious figure. I admire those that are able to have the wedding of THEIR dreams rather than feeling obligated to follow the stereotypical trends of a wedding. In the last picture on the page, it looks as though the groom is reaching/putting something down on the table but is not looking at anyone surrounding the table. Instead, his gaze is past the group of people, looking at something beyond the frame of the picture. He also seems to have a serious look on his face, which is different from the woman’s expression in the black shirt and sunglasses. She is smiling and seems to be engaged in conversation with the woman in the flowered dress, and appears to be drinking water because she is pregnant. The girl in the brown shirt is leaning to the left, and from my perspective it looks as though she is trying to engage in conversation between the woman in the brown dress and the woman in the flowered dress. I thought at first that the man in the sunglasses was looking at the groom, but upon further observation he seems to also be looking at the woman in the flowered dress. I do not see anything particularly out of the ordinary in this picture, but am very interested in why this picture is so amazing! To me, it seems as though its just a candid picture of a relaxed, casual wedding, probably in someone’s backyard. I am usually very observant and will continue to look for clues, but I have no idea!! very frustrating.
When I first started viewing the slideshow of the pictures I honestly thought the bride was a bridesmaid. I kept looking for the bride in the white dress until I realized there were only the bride and groom standing up at the wedding. There seemed to be no bridesmaids or groomsmen joining them. The wedding looks very low key in a backyard of someone’s home, I’m assuming a relative or one they already own together. I know several women who were re-married and did not wear white, I thought this could be a second marriage and that’s why everything is so casual because it’s been done before. Although the couple seems young enough for this to be their first. The fourth picture in the slideshow surprised me because I thought a guy sitting down was drinking a beer during the ceremony but now it looks more like iced tea. There doesn’t seem to be alcoholic beverages at this wedding. I was still surprised that people had drinks at all while the ceremony was taking place. The person who was conducting the ceremony had sunglasses on his head, definitely laid back. The wedding looks extremely small and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of decoration. This could be due to a lower budget or simply wanting a casual wedding. In photo twelve of the slide show I thought maybe the groom could be crying but he just looks tired and overheated. In some of the pictures it looked like the couple kept posing for pictures during the ceremony and people kept taking photos, again definitely casual. Concerning the picture you really wanted us to analyze, maybe the groom isn’t making direct eye contact with the man in the sunglasses because they haven’t met before. Those people could be part of the bride’s family and it’s an awkward situation of “hey I don’t know you but I just wanted to grab my drink I left at the table”. It’s only proper to meet and greet all the guests who attend your wedding, so it could possibly be a handshake offered.